On Wednesday 1 September, the European Commission presented its ‘Fit For 55’ package to MEPs on the European Parliament’s Transport Committee (TRAN). The package, unveiled on 15 July (see EUROPE 12762/1), is designed to reduce net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 55% by 2030.
While a large majority of MEPs welcomed the Commission’s proposals, a number of questions - and concerns - were raised by parliamentarians.
Regarding the section on infrastructure and charging points for electric vehicles, some MEPs called on the Commission to take better account of the differences in geography and population density within the Member States.
“A radius of 12 km2 would cover millions of people in Brussels, while only a few hundred are covered in some Swedish plains areas. There are specific distance requirements”, stressed Johan Danielsson (S&D, Sweden), while the Commission’s aim is to have charging stations installed no more than 60 kilometres apart by 2030.
Still on the subject of infrastructure, some parliamentarians also highlighted their current poor state of development, pointing to their still largely uneven distribution. Almost 70% of the EU’s charging stations are concentrated in three countries: France, Germany and the Netherlands.
€90 billion by 2050
The proposals related to the aviation sector were also the subject of questions. “We are talking about imposing delivery quotas on airlines at airports, but we have no capacity to supply biofuel for the next 10 years. There will be some rude awakenings, because the proposals are not based on realistic grounds”, said Dominique Riquet (Renew Europe, France).
Some MEPs also criticised the fact that railways were not part of the package presented by the Commission.
“In the light of the latest IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report, the Commission is not going far enough. Why not tackle the railways when only 60% of the rail lines in the EU are electrified?”, asked Ciarán Cuffe (Greens/EFA, Ireland).
In addition to the different areas of mobility covered by the Commission’s proposals, the issue of costs has come up on several occasions. In economic terms, the Commission has tabled an overall budget of €90 billion by 2050, including €10 billion for the current decade.
On the social aspect, however, the Commission’s evasive answers did not seem to reassure the MEPs who had questioned it on the future of workers and the potential increase in energy costs for the least well-off citizens.
“Parliament had better be ready to enter into a power relationship, because time is running out when it comes to climate change”, warned ‘transport’ committee chair Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, France) in her closing remarks. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)